Interview: Joe Montana blood pressure

Q: You were known as Joe Cool, but you recently found out that you suffered from high blood pressure — how has that affected your life?

Well, I found out I had high blood pressure about a year ago, it was kind of alarming, I was kind of in denial about it. I thought I would never get hurt, but the truth is, it is not that way. I went to see my doctor and he told me my blood pressure was abnormally high... then along came this program, with www.takethepressureoff.com. I have four kids and I want to stick around, as do others, so I want to get the word out. We're just trying to get the awareness out, along with Dr. Rippe — three pillars: exercise, eating habits and communication with your doctor... and then you can make sure to get the right medication.

Q: What makes a QB great?

Performing under pressure... handling the pressure. People will boo, but you have to handle yourself during a game... Some guys practice like all-Americans but they can't play!

Q: The first football game I ever watched was the Bengals versus Niners in the Super Bowl. Take us through the definitive play of that epic game; the pass to John Taylor that many regard as the one of the best plays in Super Bowl history.

It's actually a route where John [Taylor] gets the read. So he reads the defense and makes the decision, hopefully he is reading the same thing I am reading. When we see a certain defense, he obviously changes his route. So when you see a defense that you want to see, your heart beats a bit faster...

Q: Like I am watching it all over again... let's fast forward now a couple of years, to the time when you went down to injury and Steve Young started at QB. He was entrenched at QB when you came back; what are your memories of that?

There was not a lot that happened... Steve was playing well... I just asked for an opportunity to compete, they said no, and I just wanted to go somewhere to play. I felt that I had enough left to be a starter, and I think that I proved that later on...

Q: When it comes to loyalty, do you think that they were loyal?

Well, I think that they tried to do that by saving everything... but when the coach makes the decision, it is difficult for an owner to step in and make a change, even though they tried. I knew the writing was on the wall, it wasn't worth fighting. I knew that eventually I would be replaced, but I didn't think that the time was right. I did not expect to play, I did expect to compete.

Q: You never got into coaching, how come?

Man, coaching is a hard job, and it requires a lot of time... I hear stories from coaches who tell me that players call them in the middle of the night not knowing where they parked their car (laughs). You are baby-sitting rich, spoiled kids... I don't know where you parked your car!

Q: You played for Bill Walsh and George Seifert, how did they differ?

Well, they were both perfectionists at what they did, but Bill was offensive minded, while George was defensive minded.

Q: You will always be known as a winner; what is the single greatest thing one needs to do to win?

You need to be able to work with people. Especially in football, it is not a QB's game... even though the media likes to make it into that — it takes the whole team.